Collegians Run Fast Times at Drake, Penn Relays and Payton Jordan

At the Penn Relays, action at Franklin Field was highlighted Thursday evening by the women’s DMR, won for the 12th time by perennial distance power Villanova. The Wildcats were unpressed, as the foursome of Angel Piccirillo, Michaela Wilkins, Nicky Akande and Emily Lipari won in 10:58.84. Kentucky was nearly 6 seconds back in 11:04.45 and Columbia was third in 11:07.68. Piccirillo’s opening 1200m was 3:21.8, Wilkins ran the 400m leg in 54.6, and Akande ran 2:04.7 for 800m to establish a 3-second lead. Lipari, a veteran of big meets, covered the 1600m anchor leg in 4:37.7.

Piccirillo, Akande, and Lipari teamed up with Kelsey Margey to also nab the 4 x 800m in a collegiate record mark of 8:17.45, bettering Tennessee’s 2009 mark of 8:17.91 (also set at Penn Relays). Lipari, who was later named 2013 Penn Relays Athlete of the Meet for relay events, showed her versatility by anchoring in 2:02.25, following up fine legs by Margey (2:07.04), Piccirillo (2:04.12) and Akande (2:04.04).

The men’s DMR, contested Friday night, was closer than the women’s race. Penn State won in 9:24.68 for the first time in 54 years at the Penn Relays. Freshman Brannon Kidder (2:53.5 for 1200m), junior Brandon Bennett-Green (45.6 for 400m) and senior Casimir Loxsom (1:46.7 for 800m) set up sophomore Robby Creese for his 3:58.9 anchor leg. Villanova was second in 9:26.80 and Oregon was third in 9:27.09. Penn State also won the 4 x 800m with a 7:14.14 to 7:17.37 win over Villanova. Georgia Tech was third in 7:20.63.

Two outstanding women’s 1500m performances were among the collegiate highlights of the 104th Drake Relays. On Friday night, Colorado senior Emma Coburn finished eighth in the elite women’s 1500m in 4:11.36. The only collegiate athlete in the field, Coburn used the race as a tune-up before flying to California to win the Payton Jordan steeplechase in 9:28.26 on Sunday evening.

Saturday afternoon at Drake saw University of Georgia sophomore Carly Hamilton turn in a breakthrough performance as she rolled to a 4:12.15 victory in the seeded university/college 1500m. Missouri’s Laura Roxburg was second in 4:13.53, and Nebraska’s Jessica Fuller was third in 4:15.17. Hamilton is coming off a strong indoor season that saw her finish fourth in the mile at NCAAs, and her 1500m time at Drake, a PR by 9 seconds, eclipsed a 29-year-old school record at Georgia. “Carly ran a time we knew she was capable of,” UGA head coach Wayne Norton said. “Sometimes in our sport it’s really good to finally just go out and do it. That word that we talk about, potential, has been there for her, but it was great to see it come true. All of a sudden, Carly is on a whole new level.”

Also notable:

• At Payton Jordan, the women’s 1500m saw four collegiate athletes run under 4:12, led by Oklahoma State’s Natalja Piliusina in fourth in 4:09.57. Florida’s Cory McGee was sixth in 4:10.55, Florida State’s Amanda Winslow was seventh in 4:10.79, and FSU’s Agata Strausa was eighth in 4:11.27.

• Also at Payton Jordan, the men’s 5,000m featured Northern Arizona senior Diego Estrada finishing third in 13:15.33, while Northeastern junior Eric Jenkins finished seventh in 13:18.57. Both times are among the top ten collegiate marks in history.

• Oregon senior Jordan Hasay improved on her 10,000m debut from last month by 40 seconds, with a 32:06.64, just missing a World Championships qualifying mark.

• Arizona senior Lawi Lalang doubled at the ASU-UA-NAU Tri-Dual on Saturday, easing to wins at 5,000m in 13:40.85 and 1500m in 3:41.52.

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